Apparatus for feeding reinforcing elements for incorporation in cementitious sheets



March 16, 1954 A. MAGNANI 2,672,076

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING REINFORCING ELEMENTS FOR INCORPORATION INCEMENTITIOUS SHEETS Filed July 9. 1951 N 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 l0 INVENTORQfsamb @nm/ ATTO R N EYS March 16, 1954 A. MAGNANI 2,672,076

APPARATUS FOR FEEDING REINFORCING ELEMENTS FOR INCORPORATION INCEMENTITIOUS SHEETS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 9, 1951 INVENTORflKQfiQo Mk4) BY game hm hm @MMM M i) f ATTORNEYS March 16, 1954 A.MAGNANI APPARATUS FOR FEEDING REINFORCING ELEMENTS FOR INCORPORATION INCEMENTITIOUS SHEETS 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 9.

INVENTOR @dfhM ATTORNEYS A. MAG'NANI 2,672,076 APPARATUS FOR FEEDINGREINFORCING ELEMENTS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 March 16, 1954 FOR INCORPORATIONIN CEMENTITIOUS SHEETS Filed July 9. 1951 INVENTOR @KM /z ML Ms, %M

flan 24w; c Jazl ATTORNEY I a a: a m o I a O I 6 J \\C L I 0 m PatentedMar. 16, 1954 APPARATUS FOR FEEDING REINFORCING ELEMENTS FORINCORPORATION IN CE- MENTITIOUS SHEETS Alessandro Magnani, Broni, Italy,assignor of onehalf to F. L. Smidth & Co. A/S, Copenhagen,

Denmark, a corporation of Denmark Application July 9, 1951, Serial No.235,853

This invention relates to the production of reinforced cementitioussheets and is concerned more particularly with an apparatus forproducing such sheets, which includes novel means for feeding thereinforcing elements to the sheet material, as the latter is beingformed.

In the production of reinforced fibrous cementitious sheets, one methodemployed heretofore involves forming the sheets in th usual way andpressing them against the reinforcing elements to enclose the latter.This method is not satisfactory, because it has not been possible insheets made as described to obtain the desired close contact between thesheet material and the reinforcement. In an alternative method, thereinforcement is applied on thesize roller on the board machine afterthe cementitious material has been deposited on the roller. This methodis also unsatisfactory, because, when the sheet is unfolded to lie flat,the attachment between the reinforcement and the cementitious materialis weakened.

The present invention is directed to the provision of a novel apparatusfor incorporating reinforcing elements in cementitious sheets beingproduced by distribution of slurry on a traveling suction support bymeans of a reciprocating carriage. In the. new apparatus, thereinforcing elements are drawn from a supply by a pair of continuouslydriven feeding rollers and they pass between gripping rollers mounted ona second carriage, which is movable along a support. When thedistributing carriage moves in the same direction as the support, thesecond carriage moves with the support and the gripping rollers thereonare stationary. When the distributing carriage returns to its initialposition, it moves the second carriage ahead of it and, during suchreturn movement of the second carriage, the gripping rollers are rotatedat the proper rate by a roller on the carriage, which lies in contactwith and is rotated by the support. The second carria e is provided withguides for the individual elements. which direct them, so that they willbe imbedded in the cementitious material between th upper andlower-surfaces thereof.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made tothe accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a vertical sectionaldiagrammatic view of one form of the apparatus on the line l l of Fig.3;

Figs. 2 and 3 are sectional views on the lines 2-2 and 3 -3,respectively, of Fig. 1;

2 Claims. (01. 92-40) Fig. 4 is a sectional view on the line 4-4 ofFig.3;

Figs. 5 and 6 are sectional views on the lines 5-5 and 6-6,respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view in side elevation of a modified form ofthe apparatus;

Fig. 8 is a plan view on an enlarged scale of the carriage employed inthe apparatus of Fig. 6 for feeding the reinforcing elements; and

Figs. 9 and 10 are sectional views on the lines 9-9 and Ill-Ill ofFig.7.

The apparatus shown in Fig. 1 comprises a suction support ll) ofconventional construction, the support being hollow and having a poroustop Illa and one or more suction connections II. The support is for theproduction of a corrugated sheet, and its top surface is formed with aseries of longitudinal crests l2 separated by longitudinal furrows l3.

The cementitious. material in slurry form is discharged upon the supportthrough. a nozzle l4 between a pair of distributing rollers IS on acarriage [6. The carriage is provided with rollers ll resting on theflat margins l8 of the top of the support and, during the operation ofthe apparatus, the carriage is reciprocatecl lengthwise of the supportby an arm l9 oscillated by suitable means. The distributing rollers [5of the carriage are shaped to conform with the corrugations in the topof the support and, as the carriage is reciprocated, the cementitiousslurry is formed into layers, one upon another, to build up a sheet ofthe desired thickness on the support.

V The reinforcing elements in the formof wires 20, are drawn from coils2| thereof and pass through tensioning devices 22, around guide rollers23, and then through straightening devices 24, which removeirregularities from'the wires. From-the straightening devices, the wirespass to grooved idler wheels 25 mounted on a shaft 26 supported inbearings on a suitable structure 21. The wheels 25 are mounted withtheir planes of rotation convergent, so that the wires passing down andaround th wheels are closer together leaving the wheels than whenapproaching them.

The reinforcement to be applied to the sheet formed on support II] inthe apparatus of Fig. 1 is made up of a plurality of longitudinal wires20 connected by wire cross strands. The wire for the cross strands issupplied from a coil 28 mounted on a suitable support 29, and the wireis drawn from the coil through a straightening device 30 by grippingmeans 31 on a rack 32 movable in guides 33 and longitudinally advancedand retracted by a driven gear 34. As the gear 34 rotates in onedirection, it advances the rack 32 in the direction of the arrow and thegripping device pulls a length of the cross strand wire from coil 28across the series of wires 2i! leaving the guides 23. When a crossstrand 35 has thus been drawn across the longitudinal wires 26, thecross strand is cut by cutting means, including a pair of co-operatingpivoted blades 36 operated by a pull rod 36a, and, at about the sametime, the gripping device 3| engages a stop 31 and is sprung open. Thecross strand is thus released and drops into notches in a plurality ofarms 38 fast on a rock shaft 3t mounted in a support 3a and operated bya connecting rod 40 driven by suitable means. The levers receive; thecross strand before it reaches the longitudinal Strands and swingforward to deposit it upon those strands.

A carriage 4|: is mounted on rollers 42 traveling on rails 43 lyingparallel to the lengths of the wires 20 extending from the straighteningdevices 24 to wheels 25, and the carriage is reciprocated on the railsby a suitably driven connecting rod 44. The carriage is provided withmeans for connecting each cross strand 35xto the group of longitudinalstrands 20 and such means. may be elec tric welding devices, comprising.a plurality of stationary electrodes 45 lying beneath respectivelongitudinal strands 20 and cooperating with movable electrodes 46:attached to a bar 41 carried bybel l cranks 48 supported on brackets 49-on the carriage. The bell cranks are operable by connecting rods 50 tolower electrodes 46 toward stationary electrodes 45. As the carriage allmoves toward levers 3B, the levers swing to de-. posit a cross strand 35on wires 20 above the stationary electrodes 45. The carriage then movesalong the wires 20 and, during such movement, the. electrodes 46 movedown against the cross strand 3.5. lying on top of strands 20. and weldthe cross strand to the longitudinal strands. When the welding has beencompleted, the movable electrodes rise and carriage 4i returns toreceive the. next cross strand.

The reinforcement, in: the form of the network made up of longitudinalstrands 2e connected by cross. strands 3.5, is to be introduced into thecementitious sheet formed on support Ill in such manner that thelongitudinal strands lie at the bottom ofthe furrowsofthe sheet As thelongitudinal strands are spaced farther apart than the adjacent furrowsat the time the cross strands are connected thereto and the crossstrands are to. conform to the cross-sectional shape ofthe sheet, thecross strands are bent between adjacent longitudinal strands. so thatthe network, as suppliedv to thesheet, will have a corrugated formcorresponding to that of the sheet. The bending of the cross strands iseffected by a plate. 51. pivoted at. its upper end on a support 52andcarryingforming members. la extending between adjacent wheels 25. atthe side ofshaft 26 where. the wheels have their smallest separation.The plate. 51 is swung toward and away from shaft 26 by levers 53mounted in a shaft 54 on brackets 5-5 a suitable support, the shaft 54having; an arm 56 operable by a suitably driven connecting; rod 51-. Asthe reinforcement network passes around wheels '25-, the forming members5|=a are moved: in and out between the wheels and gradually bend thecross strands to the desired form.

The reinforcing network leaving wheels 25 passes between suitably formedfriction rollers 53 driven by appropriate means and, beyond the rollers,the network passes through a cutting device comprising a fixed shearingblade 59, with which cooperates a shearing blade 60 mounted for movementin guides in brackets 61 and actuated by a bell crank 62 operated b a, Ql mecting rod 63 driven by suitable means. At intervals in the operationof the device, the movable blade 50 is lowered to sever the longitudinalstrands of the network between adjacent cross strands.

The network enters a plurality of fixed guides 6 4 beyond the. cuttingdevice, and the guides extend down between the crests of the support insuch position that the longitudinal strands of the network arevdelivered to the sheet in the furrows and in such position as to liebetween the upper andlower surfaces of the sheet. The cross strands thenlie within the crests and furrows of the sheet between the surfacesthereof.

In the operation of the apparatus, the support It is gradually advancedin the direction of its length beneath the reciprocating distributingcarriage l 6, so. that the successivelayersof cemene. titious. materialbuild up on the support. to form a sheetof the desired thickness. Theforward end of the reinforcing network initially lies beneath thedistributing carriage. and, .as the sheet is built up and fluid is,withdrawn therefrom through the. support, the material becomes compactedabout, and in contact with the. reinforcement. As the support movesalong, the reinforcement. moves with it partly by reason of the.reinforcement. being embedded in the. sheet and partly by the feedingaction of friction rollers. 5.8. At thedee sired intervals, thereinforcement is .cutby the cutting blades 59, 6t and the. reinforcementis. again introduced into. the sheetv beneath the dis-i tributingcarriage It with thec-ut. ends of the reinforcement spaced so. that the.sheet is formed with the sections withoutreinforcement.

If desired, the support til ma be. stationary, in which event thedistributing carriage t6, is. both reciprocated. and gradually advancedalong the support. Also, the. other elements; of the. ma? chine, such asthe straightening devices it. the. means for connecting the crossstrands. to. the longitudinal strands, the wheels 25, forming plate 51and. rollers 58, are mounted ona carriage-a de vancingalongthe supportat the samerate. of advance; asthe distributing carriagel I61 In themachine shown in Figs. 1-5, inc, the. reinforcing network made, up. oflongitudinat strands. 2E and cross. stands 315'. includes only as manylongitudinal strands as there are. furrows in the fini'shed sheet. S,and thelongitudina strands lie at .thefibottoms of the. fur-rows. It;will be evident that more longitudinal strands mayv be employed inproducing the network, so that these strands will lie:- bQthi at the'bottoms. of the. furrowsand at the tops ofthe crestsiwith-e inthesheet,if desired.

In the machine shown in Figs. 1-1 0, inc., the suction support isof'theendless-type andv is made,- upof a plurality of hollow boxestSpivotally. con-. nected end to. end with the connections provided withrollers -86. The support is trainedabout driving wheels 6? of polygonalform and, in the upper stretch of the support leaving the top of onewheel and traveling to theother, the rollers 65 at first run on rails 68on suitable bracket 69' attached to the ends of suction chambers-"Illmounted on standards Ft. Iher-e aretwo suction chambers lying beneaththe opposite edges of the upper horizontai stretch of theendlesssupport, and each chamber is formed with one or eyeva'ove inbrelongitudinal slots 12 in its top surface. The

boxes 65 are similarly provided with slots 65a through'their bottomwalls, which register with the slots in the suction chambers as theboxes move along them. When the rollers 66 on the support run off rails68, boxes 65 drop down slightly to rest upon the top of the suctionchambers III, from which air is continuously withdrawn through pipes 13attached to suitable suction means.

' The machine disclosed is for the purpose of making longitudinallycorrugated sheets, and the top wall 14 of each box 65 is corrugated inthe direction of the length of the support. The corrugated area of thetop of each box 55 is porous and, at the sides of the porous area, thetop of the box has flat margins, on which travel the rollers 75 on adistributing carriage I6 reciprocated lengthwise of the support by asuitably driven connecting rod 71. The carriage is formed with sidewalls 18 having slots to receive the shafts of distributing rollers 79,which are corrugated to correspond with the corrugations in the top wall14 of the boxes 65 of the support. The cementitious slurry is dischargedupon the support between rollers I9 through a nozzl 80 and, as thecarriage l6 reciprocates, the slurry is distributed in layers on the topof the support until a sheet of the desired thickness is built up.,During the building up of the sheet, moisture is continuousl withdrawnthrough the porous tops of boxes 65.

' The mechanism for feeding the reinforcement comprises a secondcarriage BI, in the side walls 82 of which are mounted shafts 83 and 84.Shaft 83 carries a pair of wheels 85, which run in the furrows in thetop of the suction boxes 65, and shaft 84 carries wheels 85, which reston the tops of the crests of the top walls of the boxes. The machine isconstructed for producing a corrugated sheet having longitudinalreinforcing elements 8'! in the furrows and the carriage is providedwith guides 88 lying above th furrows in the suction boxes.

The reinforcing elements 81 are drawn from a supply roll 89 by drivenfriction rollers 90 and pass to the guides 88 beneath a reciprocablecutting blade 9I movable in guides in a bracket 92 and operated by adriven lever 93. The portions of the guides beneath the blade are formedas anvils, with which the blade may cooperate to sever the elements 87.The reinforcing strands I leaving the guides pass beneath rollers 94 onshaft 84 and are pressed against those rollers by rollers 95 (Fig. 8)mounted in arms 96 pivoted on plates 91 rigidly attached to a cross bar96 connecting the side members 82 on carriage 3|. Springs 99 attached toarms 96 and to plates 97 urge rollers 95 toward rollers 94, so that eachstrand is gripped between a pair of the rollers. The strands passingbeneath rollers 94 enter lower guides I00 mounted on a cross bar IOI of,

the carriage. The guides I06 terminate close to the adjacentdistributing roller 19 on car-riage I6, and lie in contact with thebottoms of the furrows in boxes 65 so as to feed the elements at theright elevation in relation to the sheet to be formed.

The carriage 8| is provided adjacent one end with a pair of dashpotsI02, having spring pressed plungers I03 engageable by a part of carriage16. At its other end, carriage 8| is provided with a bracket I64engageable with a stop I05 on a part I06 of the frame structure.

In the operation of the apparatus shown in 6 Figs. 7-10, inc.-,the-endless set of boxes 65 is ad vanced continuously beneath nozzle andthe carriage 16 which is continually reciprocated to distribute thecementitious slurry on the porous top surfaces of the boxes in the upperstretch of the support to form overlapping layers making up the finalsheet. The reinforcing wires are fed from the supply roll and ultimatelypass out through guides I00 so that they are embedded in the sheet asthe latter is being built up. When the wires have been caught within thesheet and the distributing carriage I6 moves in the same direction asthe sheet, the second carriage 8| having its rollers 85, 86 resting ontop of the suction support moves forward with the support. During suchmovement of carriage 8|, the friction'rollers 96 feed the reinforcingwires at the rate, at which carriage 8| moves forward. The carriage 16moves faster than the support in the direction of travel of thelatter'andfduring the return of carriage I6, it engages plungers I63 oncarriage SI and moves carriage 8| along the support in a directionopposite to the travel thereof. During such return movement of carriageBI, rollers 86 on the carriage roll on the support and simultaneouslyrolls 94, which are of the same diameter as rolls 86 and fast on thesame shaft 84, are turned counterclockwise at such speed that the wires81 are fed in the direction of travel of the support and at the samespeed. The wires are, accordingly, fed to the sheet being formed on thesupport at the'proper rate regardless of the direction of movement ofcarriage 8|. f

At suitable intervals during the operation of the carriages and at thetime that carriage 8| has made its full movement in the direction oftravel of the support, the cutting blade BI is lowered to sever thewires. The severed lengths of the wires are fed along with the supportby reason of the portions thereof embedded within the sheet and the endsof the wires to the rear of the blade are advanced by rollers andultimately issue through guides I 00 to be embedded again within thesheet. If desired, the operation of the friction rollers 90 may beinterrupted briefly by momentarily separating them as by cam action, sothat a section of the sheet is formed without reinforcement and may beused for severing the sheet into smaller units. Alternatively, the rolls90 may be driven at such a speed as to advance the wires 81 at a ratesomewhat slower than the rate of travel of the suction support. Afterthe wires have been embedded in the sheet, the difference between thespeed of travel of the sheet and the rate, at which the wires are fed,causes the wires to be tensioned and, whenever the wires are cut, asection of the sheet without reinforcement is automatically formed.

In the apparatus shown in Figs. 7-10, inc., the reinforcing wires arefed only to the furrows within the sheet, but, if desired, carriage 8|may be provided with additional guiding means, so that the wires may befed for embedding in the sheet both at the tops of the crests and at thebottoms of the furrows. Also, the apparatus may include the meansemployed in the apparatus of Fig. 1 for connecting cross strands to thelongitudinal strands to form a network reinforcement which, if the sheetis of corrugated form, will be given a corresponding corrugated form bythe use of wheels similar to wheels 25, and forming members similar tomembers 5Ia.

In the apparatus illustrated and described, the reinforcement made up oflongitudinal strands,

with or without cross strands connected thereto ter als, ted-11mm ource01 su ply, in.- troduced into the sheet. as the latter being built. upon th su t on support. and. then v r d at intervals If de ir d, pr -cutl ngths of th reinfor ment. may e deposited upon the sheet at h p perime; uring he for at on ofthe sheet, In a ap ratus. p ra g. to s pp ysuch ore-cut engths or the reiniomement, t e

cementifious slur y is supp ied to th su por at spaced; newts-by searate nozzles and a di t ibuting: eanr as reciprocating; alon the supprt is providedat each nozzle The carria es; are spa ed at distan e. suh. that the ngths of min -Force.- ment-m y b advan ed i oma, upply nd fupon that part. Of the sheet formed by the ct on of. the fi t carr a e.t rv w ich h remaind r of t she t is f rmed a ve th r in.- .foncement'bythe; action of. t e ond carria mi im:

1. apparatus for producing a reinforced cementitious sheet, whichcomprises a suction support, e s or advancing the supp t in the direion, o ts en th m ans for d p s t cement t ous materia pon the suppo andmeans. or in a plurality f reinfor in e e merits. l n thw and. d p sit nt m in, spa ed re ation, up n. he heet le gthwi her o nludin uides orthe resp tiv elements sp d lateral y across the. support, p i s; of ollrs rippin t e e ements nd r at b e. t advanc hemhrou h. their uide nd, st of ol er to one gr nnin roller of each. and rotatable therewith, therollers of said set bein in contact. w th the suction support; ad- Vanceof the deposits; means: nd bein rotated throu h s id ontact.

2.. An pparatus; for producin a e forced cementitious sheet. which.compr ses a, suction supp t means tor adv nc n the support in thedirection of; its length, means for deposibmg cementitious material uponthe support, and means for feeding a plurality of reinforcing elementslengthwise and depositing them in spaced relation, upon the; sheetlengthwise thereof. including guides for the respective elements spacedlaterally across the support, a'shaft extending transv rs lyof-the. sution u po t, a s t of roller fast on the shaft and engaging respectiveelements, a ur i f sprin .inr sse iv mllers, 00- op rating with those, nt e shaft to g ip the elements, and a. second set of rollers fast. onthe shaft and in contact with the suction support, the rollers of said,second set being rotated thrQuehsaid contact with the support.

ALESSANDRQ MAGNANI.

References Cited in the file of this, patent. UNITED STATES PATENTSNumber Name, Date 101,750 Mann Apr. 12,1870 1,071,822 Storey Sept.2,1913 1,968,124 Cate July 31, 1934 2,011,440 Dorn et a1. Aug. 13, 19352,017,339v Bryant Oct. 15, 1935 2,175,066 Riley g Oct. 3, 1939 2,146,296Heye Feb. '7, 1939 2,182,968 Lunsford. Dec. 12, 1939 2,382,171 PomykalaAug. 14, 1945 2,390,174 Roemer Dec. 4, 1945 2, ,39 Mueller Mar- 29', 1,99 2,577,103 Brian Dec. 4, 1951 2,578,581 Nash r Dec, 11, 195.1

FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 376,993 Italy Dec. 4, 1 9-39

